


breathe

by carminesunset



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, well a lot more comfort than hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 19:17:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15914595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carminesunset/pseuds/carminesunset
Summary: prompt by anonymous:neil wakes up bc andrew is having a nightmare and whispering ‘please’ in his sleep (from exyprompts@tumblr)





	breathe

When Neil woke up, it was to quiet murmurs next to him. A glance at the clock on the nightstand told him it was just past three in the morning. Only a couple more hours until the cats would be scratching at the door for food.

“ _Please.”_ Alarmed and unsure if what he heard was real, Neil turned over to see Andrew on his side, clenching the bedsheets so tightly in his fist that his knuckles were turning white. The wrinkles between his brows were distressed, and Neil could hear the sharp, quick intake of breath and the grinding of his teeth. “ _P-please-“_

Neil immediately sat up, fumbling with the lamp to turn it on. This wasn’t the first time either of them had a nightmare. It certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“‘Drew.” Neil whispered hoarsely. Nothing. Neil cleared his throat and tried again. “ _Andrew.”_ A sharp intake of breath, and then hazel eyes opened. Neil could clearly see him cataloguing what was in front of him. With his back secure to a wall, it took only a moment.

“... Abram,” was all he said. His voice was raspy with sleep and an edge of panic, and Neil could tell when he consciously forced himself to stop clenching his teeth. Neil’s hands ached to reach out to him, but he knew that what he needed was just a moment to collect himself. Andrew’s eyes closed again and he let out a shaky breath.

“What do you need?” Neil asked after he could hear Andrew’s breathing even out more. A pause, then:

“A piss. Budge over.” Neil obediently sat up straighter to give room for Andrew to crawl over him and get off the bed and to the bathroom. He watched worriedly as the door clicked closed behind him. He heard Andrew use the toilet then wash his hands. It was several minutes until he came out, and when he did, it was with his night mouth guard in hand. He was ordered by his dentist to put it in every night to minimize the damage that his grinding did. Andrew being Andrew, however, ignored it, claiming that he would just chew through it anyways. He slipped it in now, though, and crawled over Neil to get back under the covers.

Neil smoothed the covers back over Andrew’s shoulders before turning off the light and also getting in bed. A hand bumped into his shoulder before following it down to his hand and lacing their fingers together. It took only a small tug and Neil let Andrew pull his hand closer to his chest, not quite cuddling it. Neil allowed himself a small smile under the cover of darkness and wiggled himself a little closer. He slowly reached up to where he thought Andrew’s face was and gently caressed his cheek. He lightly brushed his thumb against his lip in question, and when Andrew didn’t pull away, leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. It was only when Neil felt him release another heavy breath against his lips that he pulled away to lay back down again.

”Hey.” Neil said softly. “You okay?” He lightly squeezed Andrew’s hand in comfort.

”Yeah,” Andrew replied gruffly, but he seemed to chew on his words before speaking again. “Could you just... distract me?”

Neil took a moment to think. “You’re Andrew Minyard. I’m Neil Josten. We’re a couple of the best players in the Exy league. Our team is on its way to winning the National Exy Championship. Next year we’ll make the U.S. Court.”

“It’s always Exy, with you.” His words were muffled from the mouth guards, but Neil could sense some reluctant amusement.

“Says the professional Exy player. We have two adorable -“

“Annoying.”

“- cats named Sir Fat Cat McCatterson and King Fluffkins. Somehow they both like you better than me even though I’m the one who feeds them.”

“I still don’t know how you convinced me to let you pick the names.”

“Blame Nicky.” Andrew huffed out a laugh at that and they were silent for a moment. Neil almost slipped back into sleep when Andrew spoke.

“We’re doing pretty good, huh?”

“Yeah,” Neil said softly. “We have our moments.”

‘ _You don’t need to worry’_ and _‘I’ll be with you forever, always’_ and ‘ _you’re safe’_ was left unsaid, but felt deep within their bones.

**Author's Note:**

> Ummmm tbh I’m a bit unclear about how Exy works. At least at the pro level. *shrug* At this point, Neil and Andrew have been in the professional league for several years and are on the same team now. I headcanon that Andrew has had several cavities over the years (cause he *kevin voice* eats too many damn sweets!!!) and also clenches his teeth when he’s asleep or bored.  
> Also the only reason why the cats aren’t in bed with them is because they had sex the night before (lol)
> 
> Prompt: https://exyprompts.tumblr.com/post/176383126776/prompt-by-anonymous-neil-wakes-up-bc-andrew-is
> 
> Find me on tumblr:  
> http://mokuuton.tumblr.com


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